Friday, March 31, 2017

Thirteen-year-old Charity can escape her unpleasant reality by stepping through the parlor closet of her mother’s new home, a mansion built in the 1800’s.

In her hometown of Talbot, New York, in the year 1880, she doesn’t have to worry about her depressed father skipping his medications or her mother flirting with her coworker. Instead, she gets to know the hatter’s son, who shows her a lifestyle of manners and pride. Few have ever accepted Charity’s old-fashioned ways…until now.

However, old Talbot can’t banish the present. Charity can stay in the mansion, with access to the hatter’s son in the past, and the prospect of a steady family unit with her mother and the new man in her mother’s life, or she can go back to her father, who has been given the option to straighten out his life and join them in their new home. Instead, his world unravels, and he spirals into violence and self-harm.

Torn between two worlds, Charity knows that if she doesn’t help him, she may lose him forever if he follows through on his threats of self-destruction.

Join us to celebrate April Fool’s Day with Dr. Michael A. Arnzen for a look at the power of comedic writing to disturb, disrupt and delight. A short talk, followed by an upbeat reading of his strangest and silliest stories and poems, will get you giggling.

Throughout 2017, the Uniontown Public Library will showcase the talent of novelists, short story writers, and poets. Each month, a writer will visit the Library to share their experiences as published authors. They will offer a short talk on a subject related to their genre, do a reading from their work, and participate in a question and answer session with the audience. A meet-and-greet and book signing will follow.

These events are free and open to the public — you do not have to be a member of the Uniontown Public Library to attend! Each event will be ticketed, with the free tickets becoming available at the Library’s main desk before each author’s visit. Seats are limited, so we encourage you to get your tickets early.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

I can't tell you what an honor it is to write a sequel to a Science Fiction Grandmaster's novel. Thank you to Meteor House and the Philip José Farmer estate for this incredible opportunity. Thank you also to Christopher Paul Carey for writing the introduction and to Mark Wheatley for such beautiful cover art. And, of course, thank you to Michael Croteau and Paul Spiteri at Meteor House for their skills as editors.

Man of War: A Two Hawks Adventure

by

Heidi Ruby Miller

In Philip José Farmer’s novel Two Hawks from Earth, Native American pilot Roger Two Hawks flew through his first “gate” while on a bombing run over Romania during World War II. The gate brought him to Earth 2, a world where the Americas never existed. Since then he has continued to fight battles on Earth after Earth, each more strange than the next.

In Heidi Ruby Miller’s short story “Dakota’s Gate” (Worlds of Philip José Farmer 3), set on Earth 3, North America never advanced past stone tools and rock shelters. But that’s where Two Hawks met another gate traveler, Dakota Cummings. It was Dakota, a woman turned friend and lover, who pulled him through a gate to her Earth, the most alien and deadly of all.

Earth 4. Two hundred years in the future. A war thirty-six thousand feet underwater. Two Hawks must draw upon all he’s learned during his gate travels in order to survive war between technologically advanced humans and their far-future hybrid cousins. This time more than just his and Dakota’s lives are at stake—the fate of an entire world is in his hands.

Featuring cover art by Mark Wheatley, an introduction by Christopher Paul Carey, and the short story “Dakota’s Gate” as a prelude, Man of War is a 24,500-word novella full of the action and adventure you’d expect of Philip José Farmer’s Roger Two Hawks.

Available in both a Signed Limited Edition Hardcover and a Signed Limited Edition Trade Paperback. As always, the print run with our Limited Editions is determined by the number of preorders. That’s why the names of those who preorder the book appear on its acknowledgments page–you make this book happen! (As long as you preorder by June 1st 2017.)

Man of War will be published simultaneously in both hardcover and paperback signed limited editions!

Buy the Signed Limited Edition Trade Paperback for $16 (+shipping)

Buy the Signed Limited Edition Hardcover for $27 (+shipping)

Buy both together for $38—save $5 off the pair (+shipping)

And, as an added bonus, if you preorder before July 1st, you will also receive a FREE ebook copy of Heidi Ruby Miller’s novel, Ambasadora.

If everyone told you love wasn’t real, would you still be willing to die for it?

Sara Mendoza and Sean Cryer are.

In their multi-partner, caste-ruled society, love and jealousy are considered emotional fallacies, nothing more than fleeting moods and sentiments biased by hormones. Relationships and conceptions in this world obsessed with celebrity, beauty, and power are based on DNA and lineages…or should be. But not everyone believes in the ruling traditions of the all-powerful Embassy. A quiet rebellion prowls the dark underground of this shiny world where techno-militants calling themselves fraggers grow in numbers and bravado. The Embassy intends to silence the fragger movement before the heresy of equality spreads throughout the system.

Sara Mendoza is part of the Embassy’s plan. Captured, tortured, and falsely accused of treason, she is given a chance to win back her freedom. She only needs to charm information from one of the fragger leaders, then kill him. But by the time she figures out the Embassy’s intel is flawed and that Sean Cryer is her true mark, she’s already in love with him.

Sean knows why Sara is on his ship from the start, but as a lonely, anti-social doser, he doesn’t value his life, only his ideology within the fragger organization. Against his better judgment, he becomes her protector, each day caring more about a future he was always afraid to hope for.

Again, the print run will be determined by the number of preorders received. Not many copies beyond those reserved will be printed—another reason toplace your order today!

Monday, March 13, 2017

There are twenty-five elite kidnap and ransom (K&R) specialists in the world. Only one is a woman: Thea Paris. And she's the best in the business.

Twenty years ago, a terrified young boy was abducted in the middle of the night by masked intruders while his sister watched, paralyzed with fear. Returned after a harrowing nine months with his captors, Thea's brother has never been the same.

This life-shattering experience drove Thea to become what she is today: a world-class freedom broker. Most hostage-recovery work is done at the negotiation table, but when diplomacy fails, Thea leads Quantum Security International's black-ops team on highly sensitive rescue missions to political hot spots around the globe.

Her childhood nightmare resurfaces when her oil magnate father, Christos Paris, is snatched from his yacht off Santorini on his sixtieth birthday, days away from the biggest deal of his career. The brutal kidnappers left the entire crew slaughtered in their wake, but strangely, there are no ransom demands, no political appeals, no prisoner release requests-just obscure and foreboding texts written in Latin sent from burner phones.

Knowing the survival window for kidnap victims is small, Thea throws herself into the most urgent and challenging rescue mission of her life-but will she be able to prevent this kidnapping from destroying her family for good?

Born in Toronto, Canada, KJ Howe enjoyed a nomadic lifestyle during her early years, living in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Caribbean, which gave her an insider’s view into many different cultures. While abroad, she read every book she could find, which triggered in her a desire to create her own stories.

She attended Salzburg International Preparatory School, Neuchâtel Junior College, and Albert College before earning a Specialists Degree in Business from the University of Toronto. KJ found success in the corporate world, but her passion for travel, adventure, and stories drew her back to school where she earned a Masters in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She also won several writing awards, including three Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense.

While honing her fiction skills, KJ worked as a medical, health, and fitness writer. She then became involved with the International Thriller Writers as the Executive Director of ThrillerFest, the organization’s annual conference held every July in New York City.

In preparation for writing THE FREEDOM BROKER series, which focuses on elite kidnap negotiator Thea Paris, KJ spent extensive time researching the dark world of kidnapping. She has interviewed former hostages, negotiators, hostage reintegration experts, special forces operatives, and K&R insurance executives.

KJ is an avid tennis player, cyclist, and swimmer. Travel and adventure still rank high on her priority list. She has had the pleasure of riding racing camels in Jordan, surfing in Hawaii, ziplining in the Costa Rican jungle, diving alongside Great White Sharks in South Africa, studying modern combat in the Arizona desert, and working with elephants in Botswana. Home is in Toronto, Canada, but she is often missing in action.

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Join us May 19-21, 2017, at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott for the 30th Annual Pennwriters Conference. Our Friday evening keynote speaker will be CHUCK SAMBUCHINO, a bestselling humor book writer, a freelance editor, and a former editor for Writer’s Digest Books. He was named by Forbes as one of the top influencers in publishing. Our Saturday luncheon keynote speaker will be ANNETTE DASHOFY, the USA Today bestselling author of the Zoe Chambers mystery series. We are also pleased to have the following agents and editor as conference participants:

In addition to three days of workshop sessions, tickets for the following special events are available:

Friday Published Penns Luncheon
“From Idea to Publication”
Learn how a writer can be part of the team that positions a book to get it into the hands of readers. Topics: tweaking your manuscript for the marketplace, learning to be a good literary citizen, and how to plant the seeds of your own success. The panelists are the founders of Littsburgh—agent Rachel Eckstrom, author and marketer Nick Courage, and publicist and publishing professional Katie Kurtzman. In honor of our 30th Annual Conference, this luncheon is open to all. Join us to celebrate!

Thursday, March 09, 2017

Every day, 50 million people log into the most immersive role-playing experience ever developed.
Thousands more wake up in a Las Vegas paradise built around the themes of the game, where the rich profit from producing virtual merchandise and real estate and members escape their mundane lives to live as warriors, wizards, or woodland elves in a sprawling Vegas playground resort.

But while Aeternus can be an exciting and bizarre experience, it conceals an underworld of fetish porn, drugs, and human trafficking.

When a decorated soldier dies trying to uncover the dark secrets at the core of the global criminal empire, he can only trust one person to finish his investigation.

Unfortunately, Winston Casey is just an unremarkable suburbanite dealing with a divorce, a miserable job, and remission from the leukemia that nearly killed him. He is still mourning the loss of his old friend when a message from beyond the grave inspires him to embark on what he believes will be a harmless, well-deserved adventure.

Out of his depth in a world of decadence and excess, can Winston rise to the challenge, save thousands of innocent strangers, and expose the conspiracy? Or will he succumb to the pleasures and vices offered by the Cult of Aeternus?

The Resurrection Pact is the first of five Geek Noir thrillers following Winston Casey through mysteries and adventures involving comic conventions, rock and roll tours, weird cults, underground movements, conspiracies, and murder.

Jay Smith is the creator and executive producer for the Parsec Award-winning audio drama series HG World. Since 2009, Jay and his company of players and producers have been telling the story of survivors in the middle of a global zombie uprising. Now in its third season, this "satellite" production has featured dozens of actors across four continents making it a production truly on a global scale. Since its debut, episodes of HG World and its spin-off series, the Parsec finalist The Diary of Jill Woodbine and The Googies have been downloaded close to a million times.

Hidden Harbor Mysteries is a pulp era adventure with a stellar cast of voices produced by award-winning producer Bryan Lincoln. Check it out at www.hiddenharbormysteries.com.

Jay holds a BA in Creative Writing and is working on his Master of Fine Arts from Seton Hill University’s innovative Writing Popular Fiction program. He attends and speaks at various science fiction and literary conventions about podcasting, writing, audio drama, and zombies.

Throughout 2017, the Uniontown Public Library will showcase the talent of novelists, short story writers, and poets. Each month, a writer will visit the Library to share their experiences as published authors. They will offer a short talk on a subject related to their genre, do a reading from their work, and participate in a question and answer session with the audience. A meet-and-greet and book signing will follow.

These events are free and open to the public — you do not have to be a member of the Uniontown Public Library to attend! Each event will be ticketed, with the free tickets becoming available at the Library’s main desk before each author’s visit. Seats are limited, so we encourage you to get your tickets early.

NEWS Man of War

BOOKS I can't tell you what an honor it is to write a sequel to a Science Fiction Grandmaster's novel. Thank you to Meteor House a...

NEWS Starrie in Publishers Weekly

Nice review from Publisher's Weekly for Starrie (From the World of Ambasadora)!
"Miller’s short third novel in the space-faring, caste-bound, hierarchically polyamorous, and socially striated Ambasadora universe (after 2013’s Greenshift) manages to balance the exoticized presentation of the setting with relatable human interaction...the romance between Ben and Naela highlights the emotional side of reaching out to those who are different from you, even in a world where those differences are stylized and codified."

TALKING ABOUT MAN OF WAR

"More than just demonstrating how the best science fiction thrills with action, and explores romance in new and unexpected ways, Heidi Ruby Miller gives us something equally important -- representation, through an exploration of Farmer's classic Iroquois character Two Hawks. Anyone interested in page-turners with diversity should stop what they're doing and read Man of War." -John Edward Lawson, Bram Stoker Award finalist and author of Bibliophobia

TALKING ABOUT THE AMBASADORA SERIES

"AMBASADORA has a lot to say about the human spirit and it says it well." -MIKE RESNICK Nebula and Hugo Award-winning Author of the Santiago series

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"Miller’s short third novel in the space-faring, caste-bound, hierarchically polyamorous, and socially striated Ambasadora universe (after 2013’s Greenshift) manages to balance the exoticized presentation of the setting with relatable human interaction...the romance between Ben and Naela highlights the emotional side of reaching out to those who are different from you, even in a world where those differences are stylized and codified." -Publisher's Weekly

TALKING ABOUT MANY GENRES

"...a beautiful and insightful must-have book for any writer, from newbie to working pro. Highly recommended!" -JONATHAN MABERRY NYT Bestselling Author of the Joe Ledger series

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"STARRIE is one ripping fast book and a well told story. I loved it!" --Basil Sands, The Big Thrill

TALKING ABOUT HEIDI'S WRITING

"...a writer-crush on Heidi Ruby Miller. I mean, holy crap, this girl can write! This is how you write Science-Fiction." -CARY CAFFREY Bestselling Author of The Girls from Alcyone trilogy

TALKING ABOUT GREENSHIFT

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"Take authentic, straight-ahead space opera. Stir in a highly trained, kick-ass assassin on a mission of vengeance. Toss in a career soldier and watch them battle together, and grow together, as adversity piles on. Serve hot! Heidi Ruby Miller’s STARRIE serves up the perfect concoction of nonstop, take-no-prisoners SF action and romance, set against the intriguing backdrop of the brutal and dangerous world of AMBASADORA, and deftly leaves us wanting more." -Win Scott Eckert, coauthor with Philip José Farmer of The Evil in Pemberley House and author of The Scarlet Jaguar, winner of the 2014 New Pulp Award

TALKING ABOUT MARKED BY LIGHT

"Talk about an outlaw hero that is larger than life. Talk about a hero who changes worlds." -JENNA BENNET NYT Bestselling Author of The Fortune series

TALKING ABOUT HEIDI'S STORIES

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"With explosive action, kick-ass heroes and romance that hits all the right notes, STARRIE gives fans of science fiction romance everything they want—at a breakneck pace. Plan to stay up all night finishing this one, it’s impossible to put down!" - RHONDA MASON Author of The Empress Game